Workers (People), personal protective equipment is often uncomfortable and ineffective. However, engineering controls offer workers the best protection. Hear this as well: the clothing which varies in complexity (something complicated) from a simple pair of gloves to whole bodysuit is usually manufactured to British or American standards institution recommendations.

However, this in itself can present problems in that such clothing is not individually tailored but made to fit the average worker (typical or normal amount or quality). What fits one worker will almost certainly not fit another.

For instance, a respirator that fits a six (6) feet two hundred (200) pound worker will hardly fit a colleague of five (5) feet and 100 pounds with much smaller features. Almost all protective clothing is designed tested and manufactured in Europe and North America and suit Caucasian features- not Caribbean features.

Hello! Special problems also arise in the use of respirators by workers with beards or side whiskers. Look at your male colleagues and note how many are clean shaven and how many beards or moustache.

Mark you: It is very difficult to get an effective seal against the face with whiskers in the way.

Just in the same way as the water can seep in using a face mask in snorkeling, airborne hazards can enter the respirator and be inhaled. Therefore, I am advising that all protective clothing must be checked against leaks or else its function is purely cosmetic (done or used in order to improve appearance).

*Note Well* Not all forms of protection involve clothing. For example, barrier cream can be used on the hands and arms but are of debatable value in preventing the hazards from actually reaching the skin.

Until next week by God’s grace. Thanking you.